The Korean Radioactive Management Corporation announced the following statement on procedures in case of earthquakes near radioactive waste disposal facilities:

Once an earthquake occurs near a radioactive waste disposal facility, a state of emergency will be declared and relevant procedures will take place according to the radioactive contingency plan.

If the earthquake scale reads 0.10g (5.98 on the Richter scale) the lowest emergency status a ‘white’ alarm will be activated and a contingency crew will be summoned. Domestic nuclear plants are built with 0.2 on the earthquake scale (6.5 on the Richter scale) as a standard.

Once initial reports of a radioactive emergency are completed and expansion prevention measures are in place, protective measures for personnel within the facility will be activated. If after internal/external radioactivity is measured and the level exceeds the limit (1 mSv for blue alert, 10 mSv for red alert), the according alert is activated.

Civilian protection measures are put into effect once Red alert is activated, and in this condition expected civilian exposure and radioactivity effects are evaluated. Post emergency restoration and measures will be put into place according to radioactive emergency plans as well as the nuclear plant safety and contingency plans.

The Kyung-Ju radioactive waste disposal facility has set the standard earthquake scale for resistance design at 0.2g (6.5 on the Richter scale) and this takes into account earthquake reports and geological features within a 320km radius. This is the same level of precaution taken by domestic nuclear power plants, and is very safe considering the nature of radioactive waste disposal facilities.

In addition, the disposal cave is located 30m above sea level, keeping it safe from any tsunamis that might occur due to undersea quakes.